Today's Creation Moment

Mar

03

Are We as Good as It Gets?

Proverbs 16:18

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Are we, as human beings, as good as it gets? According to several influential evolutionary scientists, human beings are as good as it gets, and evolution has stopped for us. Some dispute this, saying...

Animals

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

The University of Tübingen's Institute of Anatomy recently discovered a fish with what they called "a previously unknown type of eye." The glasshead barreleye has a cylindrical eye pointing upwards to see prey, predators and potential mates. But the eye also has a mirror-like second retina which is able to detect bioluminescent flashes created by deep-sea denizens to the sides and below, reports Professor Hans-Joachim Wagner.

"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth."

As you know, bats are able to find their way around and locate their prey using echolocation – high-pitched sounds that they also use to keep from flying into trees and other bats. But scientists have now learned that one particular kind of bat emits another call that warns other bats to stay away from bugs they've claimed for themselves.

"Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face."

Mechanical gears – like those found in clocks – have been around since the Greeks are thought to have invented them around 300 B.C. But scientists have now discovered a small hopping insect equipped with a set of living gears!

"All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds."

Evolutionists tell us a 66-million-year-old feathered dinosaur resembling a giant demonic bird was discovered in the fossil-rich Hell Creek formation of South and North Dakota. Not surprisingly, this newly discovered dinosaur species was dubbed the "chicken from hell".

It was "as close as you can get to a bird without being a bird," said vertebrate paleontologist Matt Lamanna. In addition to its long limbs, the research team found that the 11-foot-long, 500-pound dinosaur sported a stubby tail, likely framed by a fan of tail feathers."

"And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

Rove beetles are found in the rain forests of Costa Rica and have three different ways of making a living. Their largest prey are the blow flies that frequent animal dung. The beetles wait on the dung for a blowfly to land, then stalk their prey with the skill of a cat. They can even capture their prey in the air if it tries to escape. But dung doesn't last long in the rain forest, because dung beetles quickly haul it off.

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."

We have noted many times the different ways in which bats defy evolutionary explanations. For their echolocation systems to evolve, bats had to develop simultaneously the ability to make high pitched sounds, hear those sounds, and figure out what they mean. How did they eat before they evolved these abilities? Then there is the problem of evolving typical mammalian forearms into bat wings without crippling the creature in the process. Even evolutionists admit that the evolution of all these features even once is highly unlikely.

"Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth…"

Those who believe that all living things are the product of millions of years of evolution tell us that living things develop features that aid their survival. They are quick to point out how some unusual feature of a plant or animal aids in its survival. That's why it's noteworthy that evolutionists cannot explain why kangaroos hop.

"Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark."

Many lines of evidence support the Bible's claim that Noah saved two of every kind of creature on the Ark, including dinosaurs. This means that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time rather than separated by millions of years, as evolutionists claim. Long before modern science discovered dinosaurs, many histories offered descriptions of these creatures.

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

The sea holds some of God's most creatively designed living things. Just as on land, the variety of creatures in the sea was much greater in the past. One good example of this is an extinct sea going reptile known as Ophthalmosaurus. A full grown Ophthalmosaurus was about 12 feet long and shaped like a dolphin. What made it unusual were its eyes. They were each about the size of a dinner plate.

"So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

According to evolution, biological history is one of "red in tooth and claw." In this view, living things compete with one another. The fittest survive at the expense of the less fit. In a forest, this means that trees compete with one another for light, water and nutrients. Taller trees benefit from the light they prevent shorter trees from receiving. But as it turns out, the true law of the jungle is cooperation.

"I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee."

As fall comes to the temperate regions of North America, Europe and Asia, many birds head for warmer climates, and insects enter suspended animation. While it might appear that nature is shutting down for the winter, amazing things are happening. About 50 species of moths are awakening from spending the summer in suspended animation. Winter is when these moths are active, despite the fact that they don't have any of the biological antifreeze that some other creatures do. The metabolic costs of such chemicals would hamper their way of life.

"Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest."

What do you do when food resources are scarcer than normal for an extended period of time? People not getting enough nutrition lose weight and eventually muscle mass. It would really make more sense to proportionately shrink your body size. After all, children require fewer calories than adults. It appears that this is just what marine iguanas and perhaps some other reptiles actually do.

"But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren."

The hooded pitohuis is an evil-smelling, blue jay sized bird that is native to New Guinea. The bird has been known to science since 1827, but they held a secret that only began to be uncovered in 1989.

St. John's wort or Klamath weed is not native to North America. Until it was brought from Europe in colonial times, North American insects had never seen the plant. St. John's wort quickly spread because it was poisonous and thus not eaten by most insects. The plant manufactures a poison called hypericin that is activated by light. This poison is powerful enough to kill even livestock that might be foolish enough to eat it.

"Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers."

If the biblical account of history is true, then man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Some believe that this accounts for the almost universal legends of dragons. In many parts of the world, these legends were passed orally from generation to generation. Unfortunately, it takes only a few hundred years for such legends to become distorted.

When a young man prepares himself to meet his young lady, he slaps on a little cologne, hoping to please her. It turns out that the males of at least some species of bats do the same thing. Researchers have recently discovered how a small North American tropical bat prepares to attract and keep his harem of up to eight females. In late afternoon the bat begins a ritual that takes more than half an hour to complete.

Whales pose some interesting problems for those who believe that all living things slowly evolved to their present forms over millions of years. According to evolution, sea creatures gradually adapted to life on land because they could make a better living there. That's where mammals supposedly evolved. Then, for some unknown reason, some of those mammals – Darwin said it was the bear – decided to return to the sea.

"The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit."

A strange and beautiful family of creatures known as ammonoids nicely illustrate the illogic and lack of scientific reasoning used by defenders of evolution. While the chambered nautilus is the only species of ammonoid that exists today, the fossil record reveals hundreds of extinct species. While some, like the chambered nautilus, had relatively simple shells, others had intricately detailed shells with ruffled, wavy walls.

"The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season."

When you are a small animal whose diet could injure or even kill you, eating can be positively dangerous. That danger increases if you belong to a family of animals that normally takes minutes or even hours to swallow a victim.

"Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?"

Flight is a big problem for those who believe that we owe our existence to evolution. Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and even some fish fly or at least glide through the air in controlled flight. So many different creatures fly that evolutionists must say that flight evolved several different times. The dragonfly is among the best fliers in the animal kingdom.